I Can Breath For The First Time

Eighteen hours later, I walk into my hotel room. The clock reads 3:39.

There was a moment this morning when I couldn’t remember what day of the week it was. I had no idea when I was going home. And then, before I knew it, I was clapping my hands and telling my photographers, “Dudes, carpet’s open. Let’s hit it.”

The first hour of MTV News’ Pre-Show By The Shore was a drag race. I was struggling to keep MTVNews.com up to speed with it’s on air counterparts. We hit our marks, and then we hit our stride.

The red — white, really — carpet was laid just moments from the first arrivals. The paint on the sets was barely dry. In the office, by contrast, craft services was running low. We ran through three pounds of honey roasted peanuts in less than an hour.

I managed to sneak out of the office for approximately six minutes. I watched Fallout Boy perform from the edge of the stage, then headed back inside. It was a relief, really to get back into the AC. It was downright sticky out there.

Inside, and out, my colleagues were kickin’ it big time. I work with hundreds of talented, passionate people. It’s pretty humbling. We may not always agree, or always like one another, but we get the job done. And most of the time, we have a few laughs doing so.

Tonight’s laughs were provided by R. Kelly, who’s lip synched pantomime of “Stuck In The Closet Parts 5-6” had the office in stictches. Tonight’s joy was provided by Green Day, who’s slow, steady, heartfelt rise has been a pleasure to watch. And tonight’s cuteness was provided by a rain-soaked Kelly Clarkson.

Alas, our work is not done. Tomorrow is MTVNews.com’s busiest day of the year. In a few hours, I’ll be back in the floursecent-lit basement office. Hopefully, through the exhaustion and nausia, we’ll find a few more laughs hiding in the corners.